Three wise men came...

Bethlehem was the hometown of Joseph's ancestor, King David.  The Old Testament says this about the lineage of King David, There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse (King David's father), and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit. (Isaiah 11:1 ESV) We also find this verse, But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days. (Micah 5:2 ESV)

So, three wise men visited Jesus after His birth and brought gifts, but when did this happen?  Folklore has it that they visited Jesus at his birth, at the manger in Bethlehem. Let's see what the Bible says.  Let's start with the Gospel of Luke.  Luke was a physician and is also well known as a reliable historian of the time period.

[2:1] In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. [2] This was the first registration when Quirinius was governor of Syria. [3] And all went to be registered, each to his own town. [4] And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, [5] to be registered with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. [6] And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth. [7] And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn. (Luke 2:1-7 ESV) In the preceding verses from Luke, we find that Joseph and the pregnant Mary traveled from Nazareth to Bethlehem to be registered for a Roman required census. Here Mary gave birth to the "Fruit" of Joseph's lineage, the baby Jesus.

Did the three wise men (or Magi) then visit Jesus in Bethlehem, at the manger?  Here is what Luke tells us, [8] And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. [9] And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with fear. [10] And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. [11] For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. [12] And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” [13] And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, [14] “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!” (Luke 2:8-14 ESV) Then Luke says that these shepherds went and visited Jesus in the manger. And then Luke tells us, [22] And when the time came for their purification according to the Law of Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord [23] (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, “Every male who first opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord”) [24] and to offer a sacrifice according to what is said in the Law of the Lord, “a pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons.” (Luke 2:22-24 ESV) Luke has said that shepherds visited Jesus at the manger in Bethlehem, and then after their visit he said that Joseph, Mary and Jesus traveled to Jerusalem. They went to Jerusalem because it was Jewish religious law to offer a sacrifice to God in thanks for the their firstborn male (the law from Leviticus 12:2-8). On a side note, those people who sold the pigeons in the Temple market... they were part of the crowd who Jesus got very mad at in a later Bible story, when he overturned tables and told them they were making the House of God a den of thieves (Mark 11:15-18).  These people really took it to the average guy with the mark up they made on the sacrificial birds they sold for a huge profit, ticked Jesus off. But we did learn from Luke the historian that the Magi did not visit Jesus at the manger in Bethlehem.

When did the wise men travel to meet with Jesus? In the following verse we learn that Joseph, Mary and Jesus left Jerusalem for Nazareth, [39] And when they had performed everything according to the Law of the Lord, they returned into Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth. [40] And the child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom. And the favor of God was upon him. 

(Luke 2:39-40 ESV) There are many places in the Bible where we learn what a Magi is in the scheme of things, one being this verse, Then the king commanded that the magicians, the enchanters, the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans be summoned to tell the king his dreams. So they came in and stood before the king. (Daniel 2:2 ESV) They weren't necessarily magicians, but in this and other Bible verses we learn that they were counselors to kings. In the languages of that time, "wise men" can sometimes be translated to "magician". They may have been astronomers also, we can not be sure, but we know that they were counselors. At this point in the story we now know that Joseph's family then for some reason moved back to Bethlehem. King Herod, a descendant of the clan of Esau (Isaacs other son, Jacobs brother), heard of the story about a Messiah, a baby boy, being born in Bethlehem. He sought his counselors for an answer as to where this "child" was now. Jesus was a threat to him. We need to go to Matthew to find out what happened next, [2:1] Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, [2] saying, “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.” [3] When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him; [4] and assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. [5] They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it is written by the prophet: [6] “‘And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.’” (Matthew 2:1-6 ESV) We know Jesus was not a baby at this time, he was a few years older. Herod then called in the Magi and we find these verses, [7] Then Herod summoned the wise men secretly and ascertained from them what time the star had appeared. [8] And he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, “Go and search diligently for the child, and when you have found him, bring me word, that I too may come and worship him.” [9] After listening to the king, they went on their way. And behold, the star that they had seen when it rose went before them until it came to rest over the place where the child was. [10] When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. [11] And going into the house they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh. [12] And being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed to their own country by another way. (Matthew 2:7-12 ESV) So, now we know the Magi visited Jesus in Joseph's "house" in Bethlehem, not in a manger. The Magi then went home via another route, rather then go back to King Herod to tell him the exact location of the small boy, Jesus. That they had been warned in a dream, not to go back and tell King Herod. At this point we hear in Matthew that Joseph has a dream of warning, [13] Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Rise, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you, for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him.” [14] And he rose and took the child and his mother by night and departed to Egypt [15] and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet, “Out of Egypt I called my son.” (Matthew 2:13-15 ESV) So, "he gets the heck out of Dodge", as the saying goes, and takes his family to Egypt. King Herod is ticked when he realizes that the Magi did not come back and let him know where Jesus was, that the Magi skipped town instead, and went home another way. It is then that King Herod ordered that all male children under the age of 2 must be murdered by his men in hopes of killing the threat to him, the child Jesus.  But Jesus was with his family in Egypt, and Joseph kept his family there until the death of Herod.


When the Magi visited Jesus at Joseph's "house", they were said to have brought with them gifts of Gold, Frankincense and Myrrh. Those gifts are actually a representation of Jesus' life. Gold shows us the royalty of Jesus as King. Frankincense was the key ingredient used in the incense used in the sacrifices by the priests at the temple, representing Jesus as the new Priest, or way to God as Messiah. Myrrh was a burial spice of the times, representing the sacrifice to come, with Jesus dying for our sins as Saviour.


Addendum: An ancient text about the Magi has recently been "rediscovered" in the Vatican treasures.  You can hear about it at this site, http://news.yahoo.com/video/world-15749633/mystery-of-the-magi-23613928